Senior small forward prospect from high school in Virginia visiting Kansas Jayhawks

Bryson Tucker, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound senior small forward from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, was to attend Friday’s KU-Manhattan men’s basketball game as part of an official recruiting visit.

A source close to the situation told The Star on Friday that Tucker indeed had started his official visit to KU.

Tucker’s dad, Byron, played college basketball at both North Carolina State and George Mason. Bryson Tucker’s recruitment has been somewhat of a mystery despite the fact he is ranked No. 19 in the recruiting class of 2024 by Rivals.com, No. 20 by ESPN.com and No. 26 by 247sports.com.

Originally from Bowie, Maryland, Tucker reportedly has heard from coaches from KU, Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Duke, LSU, Georgetown and others. He has made one other visit — to Michigan State.

There has been talk by recruiting services that Tucker could possibly reclassify and in that case might be available to play for a school second semester of this season.

“Tucker has also said that he would consider pro options and that he was thinking about waiting to sign late. It is unclear yet if the Kansas visit could indicate a change in his timeline and outside of Michigan State, there hasn’t been much noise about any other programs recruiting him,” wrote Eric Bossi of Rivals.com.

Here is Bossi’s scouting report on Tucker: “Tucker is a big wing who has a pretty polished game on the offensive end of the floor. He is able to use his size to finish in the lane where he is also a very functional athlete who can get off the floor quickly in small spaces, changes direction well in traffic and has a great frame to build on in a college weight room.

“Where he really stands out, though, is with his ability to score from the mid range. Tucker gets to his spots without wasting dribbles, elevates and is problematic for defenses trying to stop him from scoring from between 12 and 17 feet.

“As Tucker gets away from the rim and shoots deeper jumpers, his shot does tend to flatten out a bit so while he’s not a poor shooter from beyond the 3-point line, there’s still plenty of room for him to improve out there. While he’s able to quickly get to his spots for one and two dribble pull-ups, Tucker could also benefit from developing his handle a bit more. Because of his size and ability to carry more muscle on his lean frame, he should be able to make the adjustment to the college game relatively quickly.”

On3.com’s Jamie Shaw wrote of Tucker: “Simply put, Bryson Tucker is a basketball player. He has great size to go with a natural basketball IQ. Nothing in his game seems to ever be rushed. He plays at his own pace. He understands change of pace, and he makes good decisions with the ball. He is good on the ball in the halfcourt, makes solid decisions, and doesn’t put the ball in trouble off the bounce. Tucker has good length, and he is a good athlete. He can make shots with a confident pull-up. Tucker’s dad, Byron, is 6-10 and scored over 1,000 points at NC State/George Mason. You would like to see Bryson’s jump shot to become more consistent. He is really good in the mid-range, one to two dribble pull ups from the elbows. An explosive athlete, he is good in transition. He has a great work ethic and is one to continue watching as a five-star.”

The early signing period runs through Wednesday. KU has signed Flory Bidunga, 6-9 center from Kokomo (Indiana) High School, Labaron Philon, 6-3 point guard from Link Year Academy in Branson, Missouri, and Rakease Passmore, a 6-5, 180-pound shooting guard/small forward from Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina.